5 Hawkeyes Earn All-Big Ten Honors

IOWA CITY, Iowa – Five University of Iowa women’s gymnasts — seniors Lauren Guerin, Clair Kaji and Bridget Killian, junior JerQuavia Henderson and sophomore Adeline Kenlin — have earned All-Big Ten recognition for the 2022 season, it was announced Tuesday by the league office.

Henderson was named to the first team for a second straight season, while Guerin, Kaji, Kenlin and Killian were second team honorees. The five honorees are the most for the program since 2017 and are tied for the most in a single season in program history.

Guerin and Kaji’s honors are the fourth of their career. They are the second and third gymnasts in program history to earn four career All-Big Ten distinctions, joining Kim Baker (1993-96). Henderson is the first Hawkeye since Mollie Drenth in 2016 and 2017 to earn first-team honors in consecutive seasons.

Henderson earned the first-team distinction after winning 12 event titles and tallying 27 top three finishes during the regular season. The Peoria, Illinois, native tied her own school record on floor, posting a 9.975 in the dual win over Penn State and she posted a 9.900 or higher in every meet in the event.

Henderson, who was the Big Ten Gymnast of the Week on Jan. 10, has national qualifying standards (NQS) of 9.945 on floor, 9.890 on vault and 39.330 in all-around. She is tied for third in the Big Ten and seventh nationally on floor, 10th in league and 28th nationally in all-around and ninth in Big Ten and 31st in the country on vault.

Guerin earned All-Big Ten honors for a fourth time (first team, 2020; second team, 2019, 2021, 2022) after winning six floor titles and posting 15 top-three finishes during the regular season. The Austin, Texas, native has scored 9.900 or higher in 10 of the team’s 11 meets on floor, which includes a pair of 9.975s, tying the school record. Guerin – the Big Ten Specialist of the Week on March 8 — is tied for third in the Big Ten and seventh nationally on floor with a 9.945 NQS.

Kaji garnered her fourth career All-Big Ten recognition – two first team (2019, 2021) and two second team (2017, 2022) – after winning one event title and tallying nine top three finishes during the regular season. The Vancouver, British Columbia, native tied a career high on floor, scoring a 9.925 in Iowa’s road win at Iowa State on March 4. Kaji has a 9.895 NQS on beam this season, ranking seventh in the Big Ten and 37th nationally.

Kenlin earned her second straight All-Big Ten honor despite missing four weeks during the regular season because of injury. The Iowa City, Iowa, native has four event titles and 11 top three finishes and has posted three career highs – 9.850 on vault, 9.900 on bars and 9.875 on floor. Kenlin has a 9.895 NQS on beam to tie for seventh in the Big Ten and 37th nationally.

Killian garnered her first career All-Big Ten recognition after winning one event title and tallying eight top three individual finishes during the regular season. The Wheaton, Illinois, native tied two career highs, posting a pair of 9.900s on vault and beam in the Iowa Corn Cy-Hawk Series road win at Iowa State. Killian has NQS scores of 9.855 on vault, 9.845 on beam and 9.835 on floor. She is tied for 16th in the Big Ten on vault and 20th on beam.

Senior Carina Tolan was also recognized as Iowa’s Big Ten Sportsmanship Award honoree. The distinction is presented to student-athletes who display sportsmanship and ethical behavior, are in good academic standing and demonstrate good citizenship outside of athletics.

The Hawkeyes, who bring an 11-6 record into the postseason, are ranked 23rd nationally. The team has posted 48 scores of 9.900 or higher during the regular season, which are the second-most in school history.

Iowa will compete in the 2022 Big Ten Championships in Columbus, Ohio, on Saturday at 11 a.m. (CT). The event will be televised live on BTN.

2022 All-Big Ten Selections
First Team – JerQuavia Henderson
Second Team – Lauren Guerin, Clair Kaji, Adeline Kenlin, Bridget Killian
Big Ten Sportsmanship Award – Carina Tolan